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Jamaican Trumpet Tree
What Are The Health Benefits?

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trumpet_leaf_plantJamaican Trumpet Tree

by Sheree-Anita Shearer | Associate Writer

What is a Trumpet Tree? Well if you grew up in Jamaica, you will know that this is the go-to “bush” when you have a cold. The medicinal herb has long been used in traditional medicine to cure other illnesses.

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What is a trumpet tree?

The Trumpet Tree is native to Central and South America and now grows all over the Caribbean, primarily Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica, where it has many different names. You are already familiar with one of them but others are snakewood, bwah canoe, Snake Wood Tree, Bois Trompette, Bois Canon, Embauba, and in Jamaica, Wild Pawpaw (Papaya). Its scientific name is Cecropia peltata.

The tree can grow to as tall as 30-70 ft tall and up to 3ft wide. It bears fruit in a greyish-brown pod which grows up to 3 inches. The fruit is sweet and its taste is described as being a cross between a watermelon and a cantaloupe. The broad, heavily indented, leaves can grow up to 30 centimetres in diameter.

Medicinal Benefits of Trumpet Tree

  • Chest Cold
  • Stuffy Nose
  • Sore Throat
  • Hoarseness
  • Sinusitis
  • Whooping Cough
  • Fever
  • Labour Pains
  • Menstrual Cramps and Irregular Periods
  • Weight Loss
  • Kidney Infections
  • Liver Conditions
  • Parkinson's Disease and other Nerve conditions
  • Cardiovascular Diseases
  • Control Diabetes
  • Control Hypertension
  • Skin Conditions for Diabetics and Cancer patients and other external cuts that are difficult to heal
  • Prevents and Treats Bacterial Infections
  • Helps with Insomnia
  • Cures Toothaches

How to use Trumpet leaves?

  1. The leaves are often dried and crushed to make tea.
  2. The leaves can also be grounded into a powder.
  3. The leaves can also be made into a paste to treat skin rashes and blemishes.

Why is it called Trumpet Tree?

Well, remember we said it could make instruments? The petiole (stalk) of the trumpet tree is long and hollow, making it the perfect candidate for a wind instrument. If you would like an even bigger “trumpet” then you can use the hollow trunk to make the instrument as well.

Uses of The Trumpet Tree

  • Not only is it called by different names across the region, but its primary use also seems to change by country.

  • The trunk produces latex which is used to treat skin blemishes such as warts, calluses, skin ulcers, herpes, and corns, a very common practice in Cuba.

  • In Trinidad, the leaves are used to treat colds, fever, flu, and snake and scorpion bites.

  • Across Latin America, the tea is used to treat respiratory infections, especially asthma.

  • In Jamaica, it is used primarily for colds, sore throat, hoarseness and for nerves. Diabetics, hypertensive persons, menstruating women and to release the placenta after giving birth.

  • The Trumpet leaves also reduce inflammation and pain and the sap can be used to treat cuts from bacterial infection.

  • The trunk of the tree is cut and drained overnight and then the sap that is drained from the plant is used to treat heart conditions.

  • Usually, we focus only on the medicinal benefits, but the trumpet tree has multiple uses. For starters, the bark can be used as rope, the trunk can be used to make tools and instruments and the leaves can be smoked as a tobacco substitute.

  • Trumpet tree wood is used to make rafts and boards for fences.

Is trumpet leaf good for kidneys?

Yes, as mentioned before, the Trumpet Tree regulates your kidneys and prevents kidney infections and diseases. Drinking tea is the most beneficial way to consume Trumpet Leaves for your kidneys.

Trumpet Leaves Can Predict a Hurricane?

We can often predict certain natural events from the way our environment reacts. For example, ants will always migrate before heavy rains. If you leave in a hurricane-prone area, as we do in Jamaica, then the trumpet tree is one of the ways we can tell if a hurricane is coming.

The otherwise flat leaves of the trumpet tree will curl downwards, almost pointing to the ground if a hurricane is on the way.

Is Angel trumpet poisonous to humans?

activities_in_montego_bay_jamaica_ahhh_ras_natango_angels_trumpet_flowerAngel's Trumpet Flowers
jamaican_trumpet_plant_leavesJamaican Trumpet Tree

Yes, Angel’s Trumpet is poisonous but it is completely different from the Trumpet Tree.

The Angel’s Trumpet tree is often confused with the Trumpet tree. The Angel’s trumpet is an ornamental shrub which grows up to 3 metres and bears long trumpet-shaped flowers. The most common colour is white but it can also be yellow, peach, pink or lavender. The Angel’s Trumpet also has a distinct scent, particularly at night.

Angel’s trumpet can cause intense thirst, difficulty with speech and swallowing, vomiting and diarrhoea, fever, confusion, hallucinations, delirium, dilated pupils, seizures, coma, respiratory irritation, headaches, nausea, light-headedness, dilated pupils and temporary blindness. While they are not common, deaths have occurred.

I am sure the benefits of the Trumpet Tree will prove to be beneficial to you at some point. It is one of the many medicinal plants we have in Jamaica. Interested in learning about others? Here are some popular ones.

Watch Video! Jamaican Trumpet Tree

Also, we have an interesting video on the Trumpet Tree on the My-Island-Jamaica YouTube Channel. You can watch it right here.

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References & Sources For Jamaican Trumpet Tree 

  1. Angel’s trumpet (Brugmansia X candida) | QPIC - Children’s health ... (no date). Available at: https://www.childrens.health.qld.gov.au/poisonous-plant-angels-trumpet-brugmansia-x-candida/ (Accessed: February 22, 2023).
  2. Trumpet tree - cecropia peltata (2017) Luminescents. Available at: https://www.luminescents.net/shop/herbal/traditional-herbs/western-herbal/products-beginning-with-t/trumpet-tree-cecropia-peltata/ (Accessed: February 22, 2023).
  3. Trumpet tree - naturalhistorysocietyjamaica.org (no date). Available at: http://naturalhistorysocietyjamaica.org/trees/TRUMPET_TREE.pdf (Accessed: February 22, 2023).

Jamaican Trumpet Tree | Written: February 22, 2023

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